Sound Advice: Putting your first year law school exams in perspective (podcast)
In the podcast, I talk about looking at law school exams as a rite of passage and also compare them to the Ming dynasty’s civil service exam.
Category: Exam and Study Tips
Test stress: This law school exam season, take care of yourself
In a recent article for The American Lawyer, Joanna Litt recounted the suicide of her husband. She attributed his death to the stresses of his law practice and of being a partner in big law. I saw this article posted at first by a single former law school
Some tips on studying for and taking 1L exams
Your first final exams are coming up, 1Ls! It's time to mind your minutes, study the past, start formulating answers, and pay attention to your professors – and get that first good grade.
3 last-minute keys for acing your law school exams
You’re probably a mere three weeks from your law school exams. So everything you’re reading and doing should be helping you ace your law school examinations. Let me help. Below are three things you can do to ensure you ace your law school exams:
Shhh! What not to do in the law library
To avoid wreaking havoc on your classmates in the law library and to assist in providing a platform for venting in the comment section below, I have tallied a few of the more egregious instances of misconduct.
1L exams have you nervous? You are not alone
If you are like I was when I was a 1L, the scariest thoughts involve the first set of exams. The unknown questions, the time crunch, especially imagining the wide range of essay questions your professors could ask you and how exactly to tackle them, is enough to give you nightmares.
Preparing for your first law school exam? Learn how to strategize for success
Taking your first round of law school exams? Get the inside scoop on what to expect and how to prepare in this webinar, "Tips for Preparing for Your First Law School Exam."
How to use government websites to perform free legal and legislative research
The phrases “legal research” or “legislative research” often conjure up images of signing into an online subscription resource to find everything one might need; however, using subscription resources is not a viable option for all lawyers in all situations. Luckily, several websites provide free and reliable legal and legislative information for
Go ahead and Google–then do a subject-based search
Here are five ways to use this necessary companion to Google-like searching and be more confident that you’ve scoured the research landscape.
Add reverse outlining to your writing toolbox
You probably know that outlining is an important part of the writing process. An outline helps you organize your writing and identify gaps in your analysis. The more complex the material you are writing about, the more important your organization is—and legal analysis is often complex. Most writers outline at
How to study your way to law school survival
Getting into law school is thrilling. You’ve been preparing for this moment a long time. After the giddiness wears off, you may start to feel a bit apprehensive. That’s because law school is an extremely competitive environment. It’s truly a jungle where the law of the land includes survival of
The art of legal writing: How to find your voice
In most law school seminars, the instruction of legal writing usually gets broken down into technical details. However, legal writing—just like every other form of writing—is more art than science. You must learn how to tell a story, appeal to an audience, and—after you’ve gotten the mechanics of analysis down—trust your instincts. Over almost a decade of
How to Choose Your Courses Wisely
Wise choices of law school courses can optimize grades and increase preparation for the bar exam and future legal practice.
Determining Your Study Priorities and Strategies for Exam Preparation
The semester’s halfway point is fast approaching. Students need to take stock now and begin serious exam preparation. First, analyze three aspects of your academics to gather information for planning your studies. Then, determine the study priorities for each course and choose appropriate study strategies to accomplish those priorities. Analyze your
Outlines and Graphic Organizers: Making Sense of a Course
Many law students never outlined courses when they were undergraduates because tests were frequent and noncumulative so cramming from class notes worked well. Infrequent law school-style exams make cramming from class notes and briefs unwise. First, one exam covering 15 weeks of material translates to hundreds of pages of briefs and
School Success in Seven Steps
Realize that law school requires a different commitment to your studies. For many law students, prior college courses were not essential to their futures. They could cram at the end of the semester, “brain dump” for a good grade, and then forget what they learned because they never planned to
Elective Directive: Be Selective
Taking courses that will give you an edge in your (so-far) chosen specialty is just one smart way to choose electives.
Exam Review Begins Now
There are techniques to improve your exam results in May. If you implement them diligently, your grades can increase with any exam format.
Study groups - Studying with other students for more success
“Study groups” are a long-standing tradition in law school. The term, however, is a misnomer; law students actually complete daily class preparation alone. They later use study group time to review and consolidate course material.
Briefing Cases - Learning Legal Interpretation
What is the most important lawyerly skill you might acquire in law school? I say it's the art of reading cases knowledgeably––especially cases involving textual interpretation. It’s unfortunate that textual interpretation is largely neglected in legal education. Professor Mary Ann Glendon of has written: “Most of our fellow citizens . .
Getting the most out of class and note-taking
Law class and note-taking requires different strategies than undergraduate classes because of format, content, and pace differences.
